15 years ago today, Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 1.0, the first version of a browser that would eventually command nearly 95% market share. Happy birthday IE, you've been around for hyperlinks, hash tags, and everything in between.

When it was introduced to the world on August 16, 1995, Microsoft Internet Explorer 1.0 was a retooled version of a browser called Mosaic, licensed by Microsoft from a company called Spyglass Incorporated.

Internet Explorer matured quickly, however, and fended off Netscape in the late 90s to dominate the browser landscape. At its peak, in 2002, combined versions of Internet Explorer accounted for nearly 95% of browser market share. It's been slowly losing ground since, having just fallen below 60% for the first time since 1999 when its star was rising, though IE9, the beta for which will be out in just under a month, promises to be a nimble new start that could reinvigorate the lumbering giant.

Whatever your feelings about IE, it is undeniably an old-timer in the browser world, one that has grown and changed dramatically in step with the internet itself. Happy 15th, Internet Explorer. [TechRadar]